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Arnim Zola
Arnim Zola was a Swiss scientist working for HYDRA before, during, and after World War II. Originally an employee of the Nazi Sturmabteilung, in 1934 he was recruited by Johann Schmidt to become the master of science for the far greater threat to the world peace, Schmidt's HYDRA organization. During the war, he designed many advanced weapons to aid HYDRA in its quest for world domination. Despite being captured by the Allies shortly before Schmidt's defeat in 1945, he was offered a position in S.H.I.E.L.D., the newly formed peacekeeping organization, and he used that opportunity to secretly rebuild HYDRA. In the Kingdom Hearts Unlimited Saga, Zola is a major supporting antagonist, first appearing in "Birth of A New Era" as one of several antagonistic prescences for the War-Torn America campaign. There, his role is mostly the same, except this time, he and his boss, the Red Skull, were in fact collaborators to both the Separatists and their secret master, Chancellor Palpatine, in their efforts to undermine the Galactic Republic from within. Story Backstory They say that sometimes it's the little people who make the greatest changes to our society, for better or for worse; and if you were to name one person who best fit that moniker to the absolute worst direction, Arnim Zola would arguably be your first choice. Zola was born into a Jewish family in Geneva, Switzerland, in the 1890s. Though physically frail and sickly, Zola had a keen mind fostered by his mentor Professor Wladyslav Shinsky. When the first World War broke out, Zola was deemed unfit for service because of his physical health and instead attended college in Wundagore alongside the American Jonathan Drew and the British Herbert Wyndham. All three studied under Shinsky, who taught his students gene modifying techniques first taught to him by Nathaniel Essex, secretly the mad Mister Sinister. Despite his talents, Zola resented his physical handicaps, manifesting his anger in a deep-seated hatred for others like him. Zola used the techniques taught to him by Shinsky to try and eradicate weakness in humanity, becoming an ardent believer in eugenics. Zola's work caught the attention of Baron Zemo, who offered him a place in the Brotherhood of the Spear. Zola accepted, believing that the Brotherhood could give him the resources he needed to expand his work on a global scale. He was one of the few of Zemo's recruits to associate with the old Brotherhood alumni who still followed the teachings of Alveus Hive, seeing in Hive and the Inhumans the ideal picture of humanity that he wanted to create. In 1930, Zola was sent by the Brotherhood to infiltrate and keep tabs on the Nazi Party in Germany, joining the Sturmabteilung. Zola created advanced weaponry for the Nazis, which they used in their campaigns to take control of Germany. However, when Zola's Jewish background was discovered, he became one of the victims of the Night of the Long Knives. Zola begged for his life, telling his attackers that he could offer them great power. One of the Nazis, Johann Schmidt, agreed to spare Zola, and Zola introduced him and several other high-ranking Nazis to Zemo, who accepted them into the Brotherhood. Not long after, Zemo, Zola, and Schmidt would reorganize the Brotherhood into what would come to be known as HYDRA. Birth of A New Era (His roles in First Avengers and Agent Carter) Between BoANE and The Journey (His backstory revealed for his current state) A Year of Misery (Cameo role in explaining the origins of Xion/Ultron) An Empire of Dreams (Plays his Winter Soldier role, only to survive his film death and become one of Ultron's lieutenants in Age of Ultron) Encoded Truths (Takes on his deleted Ant-Man role, plus keeping tabs on Blackheart, Kingpin, Diamondback, and Purple Man for HYDRA's larger goals) The Fantasmic Dreamtime (serves as one of several benefactors/partners to Zemo for Civil War) Return of the Keyblade (Is revealed to be the man behind the man behind AIDA and General Janna Hale, helping them both reform HYDRA in their own ways before suddenly finding himself once more under the control of the returning Red Skull, now freed of Vormir's icy prison thanks to Thanos obtaining the Soul Stone) Appearance and Personality Abilities Gallery Zola human.png|Arnim Zola in life as a human Arnim Zola 2.0.png|Zola's computerized mental impression before transforming into the above robotic form arnim-zola-concept-art-1.jpg|Zola's current android body, circa Avengers Age of Ultron & Agents of SHIELD S3 Category:Villains Category:Scientists Category:Inventors Category:HYDRA Category:Dominion XIII Category:The Galactic Empire Category:Machines Category:Cyborgs Category:Technopaths Category:Separatists Category:Nazis Category:The Confederacy Members